(no subject)
Apr. 25th, 2005 05:56 amThe sky cleared for the full moon which, being low in the southern sky, made long shadows fall. Had it not been so cold, I'd have spent more time watching the bright night. The tom cat who lives at the end of the block didn't seem to mind the cold, though. He came visiting tonight, and sat in my driveway a long time. He saw me on th porch, but didn't leave. My cat was sleeping in the living room when he first appeared, though I thought his call would wake her. An hour later, she woke and wanted out, so I opened the door for her, expecting the tom to be gone by then, but he was still there. She was not pleased by his presence, but did not try to run him off, instead settling down in a flowerbed to watch him, and she refused to come back inside.
The tom made no aggressive moves, so I decided not to run him off, and to let her remain out, but I listened for any sound that might indicate that a kitty contretemps was brewing. It didn't come for nearly an hour, and I don't know which of them started it, but at the sound of hissing and growling I went back out and found them staring one another down on the lawn. The tom took the opportunity of my appearance to make a quick departure. As he has never shown any fear of me, I think that Sugar might have been the aggressor. He might have tried to approach her, just to be friendly, and gotten snarled at for his pains. Once he had gone, Sugar came back in, looking quite pleased with herself. For a small and aged cat, she is quite intensely territorial, and I've seen her go after cats twice her size. Someday she's going to get her tail kicked.
The tom made no aggressive moves, so I decided not to run him off, and to let her remain out, but I listened for any sound that might indicate that a kitty contretemps was brewing. It didn't come for nearly an hour, and I don't know which of them started it, but at the sound of hissing and growling I went back out and found them staring one another down on the lawn. The tom took the opportunity of my appearance to make a quick departure. As he has never shown any fear of me, I think that Sugar might have been the aggressor. He might have tried to approach her, just to be friendly, and gotten snarled at for his pains. Once he had gone, Sugar came back in, looking quite pleased with herself. For a small and aged cat, she is quite intensely territorial, and I've seen her go after cats twice her size. Someday she's going to get her tail kicked.